San Francisco Theological Seminary and the University of Redlands, which is east of Los Angeles in southern California, have reached an agreement that will create a new Graduate School of Theology and embed San Francisco Theological Seminary within the university. The announcement states that the boards of the institutions have reached an “agreement in principle” and will work together in the coming months to finalize the merger. Exactly what the implications for the seminary and its San Anselmo campus, in Marin County north of San Francisco, will be are still unfolding. The announcement states that the seminary and its degree programs “will remain essentially unchanged at our San Anselmo campus,” and says the new partnership “will enlarge our geographic and demographic reach.” It also states that the seminary will be able to offer interdisciplinary degrees and certificates in new combinations with the university’s degree programs – for example, pairing theology with … [Read more...]
J. Herbert Nelson encourages 2020 Vision Team to dream “a vision that is commensurate with our faith”
LOUISVILLE – J. Hebert Nelson, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), gave some advice Feb. 17 to the 2020 Vision Team. “Take off the brakes,” Nelson told the vision team, which is meeting in Louisville Feb. 16-18. “Say it again,” responded team member DèAnn Cunningham, a ruling elder from Charlotte. “Say it again, say it one more time.” Nelson did. “Take off the brakes,” he exhorted – advising the vision team to worry less about pleasing Presbyterians and more about casting a sense of possibility for a church still being formed. “The church we are trying to become has not been invented yet by anyone,” he said. What about the report the vision team will submit to the 2020 General Assembly in Baltimore? “Understand that your report is not going to be the report that is going to totally change the church. But it can be a jump-start for how we begin to process change across the church in significant ways,” Nelson said. “So dream and have vision, and let them … [Read more...]
2020 Vision Team hopes to lead Presbyterians in redemptive, transformative change
LOUISVILLE – How can the 2020 Vision Team lead the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in living into the future – into a redemptive, transformative type of change? That’s at the heart of what the Vision Team is discussing during its Feb. 16-18 meeting in Louisville, in which the team is also considering potential revisions to its draft guiding statement (most likely smaller adjustments rather than wholesale changes), and how it could provide additional materials to help Presbyterians use the guiding statement as a tool for adaptive change. The 2018 General Assembly approved that draft guiding statement, along with this comment: “We desire to hear explicit examples of what this would look like in different contexts and how to get there,” and “we would like to hear more inclusion of grace, joy and the Great Ends of the Church.” The comment also says “we encourage the 2020 Vision Team to make the guiding statement more succinct.” Team members have some ideas they’ll try to perfect … [Read more...]
Being a balm in Gilead: Creating a Presbyterian mental illness ministry network
LOUISVILLE – How can Presbyterians respond to the needs of people living with mental illness in their congregations, their communities and their families? A “Comfort My People” consultation – stemming from the 2018 General Assembly’s approval of an overture on mental illness initiated by Mission Presbytery in Texas – is meeting in Louisville Feb. 11-13. The work of this summit includes, in part, creating a national mental illness ministry network in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), as well as a strategy for allocating $250,000 in grant money available for congregations, seminaries and mid councils to do work related to mental illness. Some possible examples of grant applications: a congregation hosts a community concert, with time for people to give testimonies about their experience with mental illness and the need for support and care. It offers a weekend training retreat on mental illness for congregational leaders – including those working with teenagers. Or a church … [Read more...]
Moving Forward Implementation Commission lines up its next tasks
The Moving Forward Implementation Commission, which is meeting by conference call every two weeks, is continuing its work on a variety of initiatives – living into the mandate given it by the 2018 General Assembly. During a conference call Feb. 12, commission members gave updates on their work. Advice from the stated clerk. The leadership of the A Corporation board has asked J. Herbert Nelson, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), to formally provide an advisory opinion regarding the scope of the commission’s authority. One question is whether the commission has the power to change the Manual of Operations – a question that matters because the PC(USA), A Corporation, the corporate entity for the Presbyterian Mission Agency and the Office of the General Assembly, doesn’t technically have a budget. The A Corporation leadership is trying to determine whether the commission has the power to make budgetary realignments before the 2020 General Assembly. Marco … [Read more...]
Recovery and healing: Supporting congregations after trauma
When the walls come crashing in – the awful day of the tornado, the flood, the accident, the shooting – at first everyone surges into overdrive, into survival mode. Then comes everything else: including the seeping recognition of the magnitude of the loss and all that needs to be done. For congregations and pastoral leaders committed to recovery, the next step toward healing can be a connection with Kate Wiebe, a Presbyterian minister and executive director of the Institute for Collective Trauma and Growth (ICTG). The institute is a California-based nonprofit that helps congregations and community organizations (such as schools) respond to the impact of trauma — both after it happens and in preparation for what might come down the road. The Institute works collaboratively with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, for which Wiebe has served for more than a decade as a national responder. While PDA and other first responders deal with physical needs such as providing food, … [Read more...]
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